Enterprise Challenge

Can you mentor students aged 11-16 years old to increase their confidence, raise their aspirations and inspire them? Approximate commitment is 1 hour per week, for 6 weeks (not including travel time and advance preparation).

The Mosaic Enterprise Challenge is a fully-funded competition designed to increase young people’s understanding of business concepts and how they can apply them. Interaction with mentors helps build the students’ confidence, employability and self-efficacy.

The Competition

The Enterprise Challenge is an annual, national competition during which secondary school students aged 11-16 learn about establishing and running a business through a business simulation game. The five best performing teams in each region compete to receive a coveted place in the prestigious National Final, pitching their developed business concepts to an expert panel of judges.

The competition is unique in that students benefit from being mentored by experienced business professionals who pass on their knowledge and skills about various aspects of business.

Enterprise Challenge 2015-16 participation rates

In the history of the competition, winning teams have enjoyed private trips on the London Eye, tea at Harrods, tea with the Prime Minister’s wife at 10 Downing Street, a trip to ITV News to meet Natasha Kaplinksy, a unique tour of Clarence House and a tour of HM Treasury.

Feedback from the 2015-16 programme

The Runners Up receive £2,000 in prize money for their school, while the third placed team are awarded £1,000. All finalists receive goodie bags and all students receive certificates.

The winning team will also be supported by Mosaic to develop and launch their business idea, with prize money of £500 and the winning school receiving an additional £2,000.

Enterprise Challenge Grand Finals 2017

The winning teams from each region all competed at the Mosaic Grand Finals, held on the 17th May at the offices of Hogan Lovells LLP in London. This was a fantastic day in which the finalist teams presented their pitches to a panel of expert judges. The final was compered by BBC broadcaster Sonali Shah and featured a keynote speech by entrepreneur, chef and musician Levi Roots who was made famous after his appearance on Dragons’ Den.

At the end of the day Team YouTe@ch from Skinners’ Academy, London were chosen as winners. Their business idea for a video sharing platform for exclusive use in schools impressed the judges and audience alike.

Enterprise Challenge Regional Finals 2016-17

The 2016-17 Enterprise Challenge was bigger and better than ever, with over 105 schools across the country taking part. The top 5 performing teams in each region competed at the Regional Finals, which took place at the end of March.

Enterprise Challenge 2015-16

The 2016 competition was won by ‘Team S-Mart’ from Eden Girls School in Waltham Forest, London, who pitched their way to business glory at the offices of Hogan Lovells LLP in London.

The event featured keynote speeches by entrepreneur and former star of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, James Caan CBE, and Solomon Ian-Sangala, who at the age of 18 has been voted as one of City AM’s 100 most influential entrepreneurs in the UK. The final was compered by Charlene White from ITN.

Over 4,000 pupils from over 100 secondary schools across the country participated in the competition before the final five were shortlisted to compete in the Grand Final. Over 400 volunteer business mentors from organisations including Marks & Spencer, HSBC, Jaguar Land Rover, PwC and Ernst & Young were allocated to the teams.

Headline Partners

The founding headline partner of the Enterprise Challenge competition is the Apax Foundation, the charitable arm of Apax Partners. Funding the competition since its inception in 2008/09, their continued support has been a significant factor in the competition’s growth and popularity today.

Since 2014, Qatar Charity UK has provided match funding support, enabling Mosaic to extend the reach and scope of the Enterprise Challenge.

Delivery partners

We are grateful for a range of support from organisations supporting the core Mosaic team, particularly:

TOTEM Learning, the provider of the business simulation game. Totem are a provider of learning solutions, including “serious games” for organisational learning and development.

Business in the Community, particularly the Business Class team which provides a strategic framework that enables businesses to form meaningful, sustainable relationships with schools

Hogan Lovells LLP, a global legal practice which, as a long-time supporter of Mosaic, has hosted the National Grand Finals each year, as well as providing judges to the judging panel

Endorsements

Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP

Mosaic’s work encourages in children from an early age a sense of tolerance, an appreciation that, whatever your religion, people share the same fundamental desires to work hard, to achieve and to aspire. There are few better ways of demonstrating that faith exists to bring harmony rather than strife. I... Read More